An introduction

Do you know what manwha is? Is the the Korean version of manga and it cannot be ignored anymore, even though you may never heard of it. Do not think that Korean artists are Chinese artists who copy everything they see in manga, although they are inspired by it. The Koreans (south-Koreans actually) have some tremendous artists who are delivering some great titles. Shaman Warrior, Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man, Chunchu, Ragnarok and King of Hell are just some of the titles that I can think of and that have big succes in USA. Manga and manhwa may actually look very much alike at a first sight and most of the readers will not notice the differences, except for the unusual names of the artists. Kim Young-Oh, Park Joong-Ki, Kim Byung-Jin, Kim Jae-Hwan… they sound very weird and exotic isn’t it?

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Industry and publishers

With the boom of manga in USA, the publishing houses wanted more and more titles, and manhwa was there to supply them, although the manhwa industry cannot compare with the Japanese publishing machine and with the talent pool of Japan.

In Korea, manga and manhwa book sales count from 25 to 30 percent of all book sales and between all the comics published in there (a number around 8-10.000 titles), 40% of them are manhwa. And even in USA more and more publishers have started to give this popular art form the importance that it deserves. Some of  the US companies that are publishing manhwa and that I can mention are Dark Horse, Yes Press, Media Blasters, CPM and TOKYOPOP.  And more and more Koreans are reading manhwa online, as the online digital medium exploded in the last 5 years.

A color page from Shaman Warrior by Park Joong-Ki.

Art, Style and Themes

Manhwa is read in the same style as comic-books, from left to right, horizontally.

Inspired by manga, you would say that manhwa is mostly alike when talking about art, style and themes. It is and its not. First, manhwa has a powerful melodramatic bite in it. A little poetry and drama if you want. And then is the violence. Manhwa is as violent as manga and you will definitely get your shot of blood, gore and action. Second, manhwa can be often more epic than the manga itself. Expect long stories and interesting characters, but most of the manhwa are mainly story driven, with emotional tales which puts a heavy burden on the hero. As style, manhwa is more realistic than manga. Eyes, hair, faces, expressions, body postures. Manhwa artists have more freedom of expression compared with the manga creators, which are under some very heavy burden by the editors.

On top, a page from Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man by Kim Young-Oh.

Next time when you visit your local manga store, check out some manhwa titles. They might surprise you in many ways. Support the manga, manhwa and comics book industry by buying instead of downloading scans. In this way, you will have a nice good book that you can enjoy anytime without the need for a computer, the shop will take its part, the publishing company will be happy to sell and the artists will rejoice too. Is just one of the things that one man can do for the things we like and love.

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